The Digital Conversationalist due to be born

Well that’s it. My last day at Novus Asia and what a wonderful opportunity it’s been to work with the team here. Fabulous people. Talented. Smart. Brilliant. And funny.

It’s also definitely not goodbye as we plan to become partners moving forward, with Novus Asia doing what it’s brilliant at, and me doing my bit as The Digital Conversationalist. So not goodbye, although it is with a heavy heart I step away from this amazing team.

But I’m ready to fly solo again. It’s who I am. It’s how I need to live my life.

If you’ve been following me for a long time, you’ll know this isn’t the first time I’ve done this. I set up my own business in 2006 and it morphed into a content marketing agency almost a decade ago. Obviously back then I was too early, WAY too early. Only now is the timing right.

People often comment on my passion for content marketing and they are right.

My passion is linked to the fact that I know it fundamentally transforms how we do business, putting the customer at the centre of all we do. When the customer is at the heart, it uplifts business to a place of authenticity, meaning and value – not just for customers, but for partners, employees and the entire ecosystem of business. It elevates business and that elevates humanity.

That’s why I’m passionate about it. It really is powerful stuff and it’s a complete game changer when businesses get it right. And I want to help businesses get it right from the very beginning.

So in launching my new brand ­­– The Digital Conversationalist – what am I seeking to do?

I have three core focus areas, which ensures businesses get ready to embrace content marketing, and are positioned for success from the outset. I believe this offering meets a critical need in Asia right now:

Content marketing strategy and mentoring – defining the customer in strategic workshops with the right players in the room – marketing, comms, sales, executives, customer service, etc. The goal is to help brands change internal mind-sets from what we sell to delivering a narrative focused on customer need. I then partner with CMOs to bring all of the relevant sections of business together, teaching teams the art of content marketing in all its forms, and helping clients become content-led organisations from within

Social leadership – true business transformation must start at the top in this digital age and it requires leaders to be truly social. I will work exclusively with C-level executives, coaching them to become authentic social leaders. My goal, in all cases, is to get leaders to a point where they no longer require my services, because on that day, they have embraced social leadership as a core discipline and truly understand what it means to be connected to customers, partners, employees, influencers and stakeholders today

Employee advocacy – content marketing succeeds when everyone in a business gets behind the brand. Not just in sharing the content created, but by becoming participators and creators themselves, because they will understand that blogging is the core of social leadership. My personal branding workshops for businesses empower employees – the reason customers do business with brands. The case for employee advocacy is strong and the benefits go both ways. I am excited to launch this program in the region

On top of this work with clients, I will be running regular full-day personal branding sessions for professionals in Singapore initially, with plans to grow across the region. The first two events are coming soon, so stay in touch if you’re interested, as I’ll have my website and social media assets updated soon. So much to do.

Content marketing and social media workshops for SMEs will follow – as this community is struggling to understand how they can harness these new opportunities in a cost-effective and scalable way. Don’t worry, we’ll get you going.

Another critical piece for my business moving forward is building a partner community that delivers all of the different components of content marketing and personal branding. No one can do everything. We are all great at what we do, so bringing this ecosystem together in the region will be a big focus for me. I believe a collaborative content community is critical for Asia. Want to join our community? Let me know.

So with that I’d like to thank everyone who reads my blogs and continues to support what I’m doing. The digital and real-life communities I have around me are truly amazing and I just wanted to say how grateful I am to you. Seriously, it means everything to me. My confidence in stepping out is very much backed by the belief you have in my ability to succeed here, and I can’t thank you enough for that.

There you go. I’m off. Join me for the ride?

Cheers

Andrea

And please, if you like this, I’d love a comment, or a big virtual back-slap to send me on my way. Of course, please also feel free to share with your communities. That’s what this is all about today – sharing and giving to each other. If you like my style and what I talk about, feel free to follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter or on Facebook. Thanks for reading.

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About The Author

Andrea Edwards, The Digital Conversationalist, is a globally award winning B2B communications professional with more than 20 years’ experience from around the globe, including 12 years exclusively in Asia Pacific. A content marketing strategy pioneer, blogger, writer, as well as a social leadership, employee advocacy and personal branding trainer/coach for businesses and professionals – Andrea has a proven talent to communicate with customers, prospects, stakeholders and influencers in a way that resonates deeply and gets results.

I just started a personal branding company last year, and I agree that there is massive opportunity for employee advocacy to help amplify corporate messaging, if the employee’s know how to use their own brands to help spread good news.